Gottheimer has big lead among age 50+ voters, poll says

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) has a 45%-29% lead among voters over 50 in his bid for re-election to a second term in Congress, according to an AARP poll in New Jersey’s 5th district.

Gottheimer faces Republican John McCann, a former Cresskill councilman.

Wendy Goetz, running as the “Trade, Health, Environment” candidate gets 2%, while Libertarian James Tosone is at 1%.

The older voter demographic in New Jersey typically leans more toward the Republicans, while Democrats score much better among young voters.

President Donald Trump has an upside-down 36%-53% approval rating among the same group of voters. Trump carried the district by 4,089 votes, 48%-47%, in 2016.

Six out of ten voters over the age of 50 disapprove of the job Republicans are doing in Congress, with 25% saying they approve. Still, 53% disapprove of congressional Democrats and 29% in approval.

Gottheimer ousted seven-term Rep. Scott Garrett by a 51%-47% margin two years ago.

The AARP poll was conducted by Alan Newman Research (ANR). It has a sample size of 604 telephone interviews (422 landline, 182 cell phone) and screened registered voter age 50 and older in the 5th district. The margin of error is +/- 4%.